Shotgun shell reloader



March 29, 1966 "r. J. BACHHUBER SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER l 4 \B A W 3 m M m m w m INVEN TOR. 727500085 J- flaw/mas:

.Mbzpm A TTOE/VE Y5 March 1966 T. J. BACHHUBER SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 24, 1963 Z2 IN VEN TOR.

7/ /Ea0aeE J @fidf/HUEEE BY W ArMvA-M March 29, 1966 T. J. BACHHUBER 3,242,790

SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER Filed Jan. 24, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR. 72500025 u. inc/Mafia M124. mfm

I-ill. N A

March 29, 1966 1-. J. BACHHUBER 3,242,790

SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER Filed Jan. 24, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 y/QJ I .14

76 5O fi/a /95 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,242,790 SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER Theodore J. Bachhuber, 725 Dayton St., Mayville, Wis. Filed Jan. 24, 1963, Ser. No. 253,628 12 Claims. (CI. 86-29) This invention relates to a shotgun shell reloader. The present device is an improvement upon a reloader disclosed in my companion application Serial No. 803,754, filed April 2, 1959, now Patent No. 3,105,408.

A base supports a table upon which a shotgun shell is positioned at successive locations while work is performed thereon by tools mounted on a tool carrier which is vertically reciprocable on a column rising from the base. The carrier is operated by a hand lever which is pivoted to the carrier and linked to the base. 4

In a first operation the shell is de-primed and re-sized. At another station, a new primer is pressed into place and as the die is being retracted a charge of powder is delivered into the shell. These two operations differ from those disclosed in my prior application above identified.

In the next successive descent of the tool carrier at the same station, wads are rammed above the powder and, as the die is being retracted, shot is delivered above the wad. This is also specifically different from the disclosure of my prior application.

The crimping which follows in the next operation is performed in a single step, this also being a novel feature, as is the ejection of the completed shell.

A major feature of novelty is the simple and effective means whereby the machine is programmed to discharge powder and shot automatically in correct order and at correct times in the reloading procedures. The metering slide valve which passes beneath the powder and shot containers and discharges into a drop tube is essentially the same as in my former application. However, in the present device, the slide valve is subjected to spring bias in one direction. Associated with the way in which the slide valve operates, there are programming levers which coact with each other and with the valve and are controlled and actuated in the course of the movements of the carrier, the net result being to operate the valve automatically in the course of carrier manipulation.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a shell reloading device embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of the device on an enlarged scale as it appears in side elevation with portions broken away.

FIG. 3 is a view in front elevation on the scale of FIG. 2, portions being broken away.

FIG. 4 is a view taken in transverse section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a detail view in axial section through a shell which is being de-prirned and sized, portions of the table and tool carrier being shown in section, portions of one of the tools being broken away.

FIG. 6 is a detail view taken in section on the line 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary detail view similar to a portion of FIG. 6 showing the parts in different positions.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary detail view largely in section comparable to that of FIG. 6 but on a somewhat enlarged scale and showing the parts in different positions.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the parts in other positions, and with some portions in side elevation which are in section of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the parts in still different positions.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary detail view on the line 1111 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing the parts in subsequent positions.

3,242,790 Patented Mar. 29, 1966 FIG. 13 is a detail view taken in section through the crimping tool engaged in a crimping operation, the shell being partially in elevation and partially in section.

FIG. 14 is a detail view partly in section and partly in side elevation showing shell ejection from a sleeve in which it is supported during crimping.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the apparatus with the powder and shot receptacles removed.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper portion of the apparatus with the receptacles removed.

FIG. 17 is a detail view of programming levers as they appear in side elevation, portions of the structure being broken away.

FIG. 18 is a view similar to FIG. 17 showing the parts in different positions.

FIG. 19 is a view similar to FIGS. 17 and 18 showing the parts in different positions.

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary view similar to a portion of FIGS. 17 to 19 but illustrating the parts in different positions.

The base 22 includes legs 24 which support a table 26. Extending through the table and projecting thereabove is a column 28 which is of non-circular cross section, being illustrated as square for the purposes of the present disclosure.

Vertically reciprocable upon the column 28 is the tool carrier 30 which has an opening corresponding in cross section to the cross section of the column, to provide a bearing at 32 thereon. The carrier has another bearing 34 which is provided by the inverted channel 36. The flanges of this channel are embraced between bifurcated leg portions 38 of a hand lever 40. The lever is pivoted to the carrier by means of a pintle bolt 42 which spans the two side flanges of the channel 36 as clearly appears from FIGS. 1 and 6. At the rear end of the hand lever 40, the legs 38 are connected by a pivot bolt 44 with links 46 which are pivoted by means of bolt 48 to the lower end of the column 28 (FIGS. 2 and 6).

A plate 50 is invertibly pivoted to the upper end of the column by means of pintle bolt 52. An upstanding flange 54 cooperates with the angle 56 secured to the plate to provide a way in which the metering valve 58 is recipro cable. To the flange 60 of angle 56 are attached apertured caps 62, 64 with which the containers 66, 68 are detachably connected to dispense powder and shot. The metering slide 58 has pockets 70 and 72 as disclosed in my companion application above identified. In FIG. 15, pocket 70 is registering with the apertured cap 62 to receive powder. When the metering slide 58 reciprocates under the bias of its spring 76 to its other extreme position, the pocket 72 will receive shot from the apertured cap 64 of the container 68 while the pocket 70 will now register with the drop tube 74 as shown in FIG. 6. As best shown in FIG. 3, a stop screw 75 connected with the slide moves in a slot 77 of the way to define the extreme positions in which the respective pockets of the slide register with the drop tube. Actually, the stop is not required in the position of the parts shown in FIG. 3 since the movement of the slide to the right as viewed in FIG. 3 is effected by the finger 196 of lever as hereinafter described and its position is then determined by the arm 232 (FIGS. 15 and 16). However, when the stop arm 232 is out of the way and the slide is moved under the bias of spring 76 in a direction which is toward the left in FIG. 3 (to the right in FIG. 18), the finger is out of contact with the slide in the final position of the parts and the slide position is determined by the stop screw 75 in contact with the way at the lefthand end of slot 77.

The purpose of making the plate 50 invertible along with the containers 66 and 68 is, as explained in the companion application above identified, to enable containers to be attached and detached without spillage of their contents. When the plate 50 is inverted, the containers 66 and 68 are at least nearly right side up so that, in screwing them into the caps 62 and 64 or withdrawing them from those caps, the contents will remain in the container.

The drop tube 74 is carried by bracket 78 from the column 28, where it remains in fixed position with respect to the column. It has a flared upper end 80 which receives the tunnelling downwardly embossed portion 82 of the way when the invertible plate 50 is restored to its normal position shown in FIG. 6.

The tool carrier 30 is normally elevated by compression spring 82 which conveniently encircles the column 28 and is compressed when the carrier is forced downwardly against the bias of such spring by the hand lever 40 as shown in FIG. 6.

Fixed in the carrier is a tubular ram 84 in which the lower end of the drop tube 74 is telescopically received. The functions of the tube 74 and the ram 84 will hereinafter be described. For the present, it is desired to note only that the ram acts as an extension of the drop tube.

The various tools used in the operation of reloading will now be described.

In FIG. I have shown the shell 90 in a position on the table 26 over the aperture 92 with which the table is provided. The shell 90 comprises a cardboard shell case 94 and a metal ferrule 96 commonly made of brass. As the tool carrier 30 is caused to descend, a sizing die 98 supported from the carrier by means of sleeve 100 moves downwardly about the outside of the shell case 94 while the floating inner die 102 enters the interior of the shell. The die 102 is suspended adjustably by means of bolt 104 from the carrier 30. The bolt is reciprocable through a secondary interior sizing die 106 which is fixed to the carrier. At its lower end the interior die 102 carries a punch 108 which ejects the spent primer 110 as shown in FIG. 5. A box 112 is positioned to receive the spent caps as they fall through the opening 92 in the table.

The interior die 102 and punch 108 will normally hang well below the exterior sizing die 98 as shown in FIG. 1. However, the resistance of the cap may cause the die 102 to dwell during continued descent of carrier 30 until die 102 is struck by the lower end of secondary inner die 106 as shown in FIG. 5, whereupon the primer cap 110 will necessarily be ejected. Meantime, the shell case and ferrule will have been re-sized by the tools described.

The operator then releases the handle and the carrier will then rise to the position of FIG. 1. Either by means of the bias of spring 82 or by manipulation of handle 40 by the operator, it is necessary, in order to eject the sized shell from the sizing die 98, that the plunger 104 shall strike sharply against the stop 105 which is carried by the column. As shown in FIG. 5, the plunger 104 projects materially above the threaded shank 107 and will so project when the die 102 encounters the insert in the interior of the shell. Accordingly, a sharp blow of plunger 104 on stop 105 will eject the shell.

Thereupon, the de-primed shell 90 will be moved to a second station where it rests on a yieldable table 114 which surrounds a fixed post 116 on which a live primer cap 111 has been placed as shown in FIG. 7. The table 114 has a diameter sufficient to receive the ferrule 96 of the shell 90 which is being reloaded. When the table yields under pressure exerted on the shell through means presently to be disclosed, the ferrule is forced downwardly about the live primer 111, the primer thereby being seated in the opening provided therefor in the ferrule.

The downward pressure which engages the shell with the live primer is exerted by a free supporting sleeve 120 which is placed manually about the cardboard shell case 94 at the time it is positioned at this station. This supports the shell case against the pressure exerted by the ramming of the powder and the shot.

Extension ring 122 is made in two parts to support the guide fingers 124 for use in introducing the wads. Due to the spring fingers 124 which frictionally engage the ram 84, the extension ring 122 tends to move up and down with the ram as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. If desired, the ram may be provided with a shallow groove at 125 which the fingers may engage. However, this is not ordinarily necessary.

When the carrier 30 descends to the position of FIG. 6, the tubular ram enters the shell and the surrounding sleeve 120 which supports the shell. In consequence, the extension ring 122 engages the supporting sleeve 120 and is in turn engaged 'by the carrier to transmit thrust through the sleeve 120 to the rim of the ferrule which is thereby pressed on table 114 against the compression of the supporting spring 126 to insert the primer 111.

As the carrier 30 moves upwardly, the metering valve slide 58 is caused by means hereinafter to be described to reciprocate to move pocket 70 which has been filled with powder from container 66 into registry with the funnel 82, from which the powder is discharged through drop tube 74 and the tubular ram 84 into the primed shell. The body of powder accuring in the primed shell is shown at 130 in FIG. 8, the carrier being acsending as indicated by the arrow 132. The operator will normally hold the extension ring 122 in place on sleeve 120 so that the tubular ram 84 will be withdrawn from the extension ring to permit the introduction of the wads.

As soon as the tool 84 clears the ring 122 at the mouth of the shell, the wads 134 and 136 (of any desired number and type) are placed manually within the ring 122, where they are supported on the fingers 124. Handle 40 is then manipulated to cause the descent of the carrier 30 from the position of FIG. 9 to that of FIG. 10 as indicated by the arrow 138 in FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, the tubular ram 84 has pushed the wads 134 and 136 home on the charge 130 of the powder. Meantime, through means hereinafter to be described, the slide valve has automatically moved to the position of FIG. 3 whereby to register its pocket 72 with the funnel 80 and drop tube 74 for discharging a charge of shot 140 on top of the wad 136. The ascending movement of the tubular ram 84 as indicated by the arrow 142 in FIG. 12 completes the step of depositing the shot charge in the shell. In these operations, the shell 96 will be supported on the yield able table 114 which has very limited yielding movement before it bottoms on the shoulder 144 of post 116, shown in FIG. 11.

The shell now having been refilled with fresh charges of powder and shot and supplied with a new primer, it remains to recrimp the case 94. The filled shell, still contained in supporting sleeve 120, is moved manually from the yieldable table 114 on which it is shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 and 12 and is now centered over the table aperture 146 as shown in FIG. 13. The aperture 146 protects the primer against accidental firing. The part shown at 148 is a guide to facilitate accurate registration of the shell where it will not only be centered over the opening 146 but will be aligned with the tubular external crimping die 150. This die surrounds, and rests upon, an interior crimping die 152 adjustably supported by bolt 154 from the carrier 30. A spring seat 156 on the bolt is engaged by a compression spring 158 which supplements the weight of the die in urging it downwardly until its shoulder 160 engages the die 152. The interior shoulder 162 is engaged with the previously crimped rim of the shell case 94 to recrimp it as shown at 164 in FIG. 13.

Thereupon, as continued pressure of carrier 30 drives the inner die 152 downwardly past the shoulder 162, the crimped portions 164 are dished inwardly as indicated at 166, thus recessing the end of the shell in the preferred manner. It will be noted that the entire crimping and recessing operation is a single operation performed in one downward movement of the tool carrier 30.

Upon completion of this operation, pressure on the handle 40 is released to permit the carrier to move upwardly to its FIG. 1 position whereupon the completed shell, still in its confining sleeve 120, is moved over into registry with the larger opening 170 into which the reduced extremity 172 of sleeve 120 enters as shown in FIG. 14. Now on the next down strokes of the tool carrier 30 the ejection plunger 174 forces the completed recharged shell from the confining sleeve 120 as shown in FIG. 14.

The means for automatic operation of the metering slide will now be described.

The metering slide 58 is automatically controlled by means of an actuating lever 180 and three programming levers 182, 184 and 186 as best shown in FIGS. 16 to 20.

The actuating lever 180 is pivoted at 188 from a bracket 190 mounted at the upper end of post 28. Connected to one end of lever 180 is a link 192 which has a head 194 in the path of descent of the tool carrier 30. When the tool carrier engages a head 194 at the lower end of link 192, lever 180 is oscillated clockwise as viewed in FIG. 3 (counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 16) to engage its finger 196 with the end 198 of the slide 58 for the reciprocation of the slide in opposition to the bias of the tension spring 76. The movement of the slide may be relatively slight if it is already in the position shown in FIG. 16 or it may be relatively great if the slide is in the retracted position in which it is shown in FIG. 18.

At the initiation of automatic operation of the metering slide, the parts are in the position shown in FIG. 16. The levers 182, 184 and 186 are side by side. Levers 182 and 184 are individually pivioted on a headless pin 200, on which they are held by the retainer 202 which is screwed to base 204 of the angle 56 which contributes to the formation of the way in which the metering slide 58 is reciprocable. The overhanging finger 206 at the upper end of the retainer 202 acts as a stop to limit the upward pivotal movement of the several levers 182, 184, 186.

Lever 186 is short. It is mounted on a headless pin 208, projecting from an intermediate portion of lever 184. The retainer 202 likewise holds lever 186 in position on its pin. At its lower margin, lever 186 has a notch which forms a shoulder 210 that engages a side margin of a tab 212 that projects rearwardly from the inner lever 182 through a notch 214 in the intermediate lever 184.

The tab 212 receives the thrust of a light compression spring 214 mounted upon and projecting from the end of a push rod 216 which is suitably guided in openings in the carrier 30 and the table 26 and has a rounded lower end 218 resting on a bell crank lever 220 which is pivoted at 222 and has a free end portion 224 disposed beneath the yieldable annular table 114, whereby the depression of the table will oscillate the bell crank 220 from the position of FIGS. 2, 8 and 9 to the position of FIGS. 6 and 10. Such Oscillation is brought about by handle-induced lowering of tool carrier 30' acting either through the tubular ram 84, as in FIG. 10 or through the series of sleeves 120, 122, as in FIG. 6, to depress the partially completed shell thereby to depress the annular yieldable table 114 against the bias of spring 126.

The several levers 182, 184 and 186 are respectively provided with forwardly projecting arms 232, 234 and 236, all of which, in the position of the parts shown in FIG. 16, extend across the end 198 of the metering slide 58 in the path of retraction thereof under bias of spring 76. The arm 236 of lever 186 has at its remote end a downwardly depending finger 238.

The operation is as follows:

In the position of the parts shown in FIGS. and 16, the slide 58 is in its advanced position in the sense that spring 76 is tensioned. The slide is held in this position by finger 232 of the inner lever 182 which engages the end surface 198 of the slid-e. The slide pocket 70 is beneath the apertured screw cap 62 which supports the powtier container 66 as shown in FIG. 1. The slide pocket 72 which transports the shot from the container 68 is empty at this time and is centered in registry with the drop tube. This position of the parts is also shown in FIG. 3. The spent primer has been ejected as shown in FIG. 5.

Ejection of the spent primer has not in any manner actuated any of the control mechanism because the length of link 192 in relation to the travel of the carrier is such that the finger 196 of lever 180 will only just displace slide 58, the slide being already retracted and held by the arm 232 of programming lever 182.

Only after the loose sleeve is slipped over the shell and surmounted by the sleeve 122 as shown in FIG. 8, can there be any displacement of push rod 216. The sequence of steps which involves the programming of the slide starts with FIG. 6, which shows the tool carrier 30 depressed by handle 40 against the bias of spring 82 to an extent such that motion is communicated through the superimposed sleeves 122 and 120 to the rim of the ferrule 96 of the shell which is being reloaded, thereby displacing the table 114 for the dual function of inserting the post-supported primer cap 111 and displacing the bell crank 220 to operate the push rod 216.

The upward displacement of push rod 216 elevates all three of the programming levers 182, 184 and 186. The spring 214 at the upper end of the push rod acts primarily on the tab 212 of the inner lever 182. At this time, the shoulder 210 of the short outer lever 186 is engaged with the tab as shown in FIG. 17. Consequently, the outer lever 186 is lifted. Since the shoulder is virtually directly beneath the pin 208 on which the outer lever 186 is pivoted to the inter-mediate lever 184, the intermediate lever is also lifted. Thus all three levers are elevated out of the path of the slide 58, an operation which is facilitated by the fact that the arms of the several levers are all relieved of slide pressure by a slight advancing displacement of the slide to the left as viewed in FIG. 17 by engagement of the finger 196 of lever 189 with the end surface 198 of the slide.

When the operator permits the hand lever 40 to move upwardly with the tool carrier under bias of spring 82, the resulting clockwise oscillation of lever removes its finger from in front of the slide, thus permitting the slide to be retracted by its spring 76 from the position of FIG. 17 to that of FIG. 18. In this movement the slide is controlled by finger 196 of lever 180, the slide moving only as fast as the finger is withdrawn in consequence of the rise of tool carrier 30.

As the slide is retracted, it moves beneath the arms 232 and 234 of the inner and intermediate programming levers 182 and 184 so that the arms rest on top of the slide as shown in FIG. 18 without impeding its continued movement to the right. The short outer lever 186 is carnmed upwardly and held in a raised position by engagement of the slide 58 with the depending finger 238. This elevation of the outer lever frees the shoulder 210 from the tab 212 so that the intermediate lever 184 is no longer supported from the tab 212 of the inner lever 182. The whole purpose of the short outer lever 186 is to function as a trigger for the release of the intermediate lever so that, the inner lever 182 being still supported by pressure on tab 212, the intermediate lever will drop down where its arm 234 will engage and retain the slide as shown in FIG. 19 and described below, after the slide returns to its extreme advanced position.

In FIG. 18, the slide is in its extreme righthand (retracted) position in which the powder metering pocket 70 registers with the drop tube 74 to release the powder into the shell as shown in FIG. 8. Such release occurs during completion of the slide retraction movement and upward movement of the carrier and handle. At the same time, the shot metering pocket 72 has moved from the position of FIG. 15 and FIG. 6 to a position in which it now registers with the aperture cap 64 and shot container 68 to receive a charge of shot.

It will be remembered that the operator now places the wads 134 and 136 beneath the annular ram tube 84 as shown in FIG. 9, thereupon operating the hand lever 4% once more to force the tool carrier downwardly to engage the wad with the powder as shown in FIG. 10. The pressure on the shell which is being re-loaded displaces the annular table 114 again to exert pressure on the bell crank 220 as shown in FIG. 10. This will raise the push rod 216 but the raising thereof is ineffective since, as shown in FIG. 18, the several programming levers are already elevated. However, the downward movement of the tool carrier 30 operates the link 192 to oscillate lever 180 thereby to engage the finger 196 of that lever with the end 198 of the slide 58 to move the slide from the position of FIG. 18 to the position of FIG. 19. The shot measuring pocket 72 now registers with the drop tube and the charge of shot is discharged into the ram tube 84 as shown in FIG. 12. As soon as the ram tube starts up, the shot will be released onto the wads within the shell.

In the FIG. 19 position of the parts, the inner programming lever 182 is being held up by the spring 214 at the end of push rod 216. The outer programming lever 186 is being held up by engagement with the side of the tab 212. However, the intermediate programming lever 184 has nothing to hold it up and its arm 234 engages with the end 198 of the slide 58 to hold the slide in this position.

The sequence of operations of the slide is now com pleted but the programming levers cannot resume the position of FIG. 16 for the moment because the arm 232 of the inner programming lever 182 still rests on top of the slide 58 and this prevents the short outer programming lever 186 from having its shoulder 210 engaged with tab 212. However, the next time the hand lever 40 is operated, as for ejection of the re-loaded shell as shown at FIG. 14, the carrier 30 engages the head 194 of the link 192 to oscillate the lever 180 just sufficiently so that finger 196 will nudge the slide 58 slightly to the left as viewed in FIGS. 19 and 20, thereby permitting the arm 232 to drop in the path of the slide, whereupon all of the levers will be restored to their FIG. 16 positions.

It will be observed that the presence of a shell beneath the drop tube and the tubular ram which serves as an extension thereof is a prerequisite to discharge of either powder or shot. The charge metering slide is restrained by the programming levers in a position in which it cannot move toward the point of delivery unless the program levers are first actuated from the metering slide by means of push rod 216. The push rod does not operate except by the displacement of the table 114 and this happens only when a shell is pushed downwardly against the table either by pressure of the carrier communicated thereto through the extension ring 122 and sleeve 120 (FIG. 6) or by pressure of the tubular ram 84 upon the wads 136, 134 and the powder charge 130 (FIG. Even then, the powder is not released at the time of pressure but is released on the back stroke of the carrier as shown in FIG. 8.

Similarly as to the charge of shot, it is the downward movement of the ram 84 as in FIG. 10 which, in the state of the programming levers shown in FIG. 19, permits the finger 196 to move the slide to a position for discharging the metered charge of shot into the tube 84, from which the shot is released when the tube is retracted as shown in FIG. 12.

Thus the entire functioning of the metering slide is automatic. No charge can be delivered accidentally nor does the operator have to manipulate the slide consciously, all operations of the slide being dependent upon manipulation of the various tools used in re-loading operation.

I claim:

1. A shotgun shell reloader comprising a base having a resiliently yieldable table provided with mounting means for accommodating yielding movement and upon which may be supported a shotgun shell to be reloaded, a tool carrier movable to and from the table, a drop tube centered above the shell for delivery of a charge of powder thereto, a powder container offset from the drop tube, a metering slide having a powder receiving pocket and movable forth and back between positions of registry of said pocket with said container and with said drop tube, means for moving the slide, table actuated means for controlling slide movement, and means for communicating motion from the carrier through a shell in said table to said table and for thereby controlling the movement of said slide.

2. A shotgun shell reloader according to claim 1 in which said last mentioned means includes a ramming extension of said drop tube connected with said carrier and constituting a tool.

3. A shotgun shell reloader according to claim 1 in which said last named means includes a sleeve encircling said shell and an extension ring also encircling the shell and interposed between the sleeve and the carrier for transmitting motion of the carrier to said table.

4. A shotgun shell reloader according to claim 1 in which the means for controlling slide movement includes at least one programming lever having an arm normally interposed in the path of movement of the slide, and a push rod having a lever connecting it with said table to elevate the rod when the table is depressed by communication of motion thereto through the shell from the carrier, said push rod having means for displacing the programming lever from the path of the slide.

5. A shotgun shell reloader comprising the combination with powder and shot containers, of a drop tube intermediate the containers, a slide having powder and shot metering pockets selectively registrable with respective containers and with said drop tube, means for supporting a shell to be loaded, a tool carrier reciprocable to and from said means, mechanism for actuating said carrier to and from said means, a drop tube extension receivable into a shell and mounted on said carrier and telescopically associated with said drop tube for guiding into such shell charges of powder and shot released by said metering slide into said drop tube, a spring biasing said slide for movement in one direction, means including a lever for actuating said slide in the opposite direction against the bias of said spring, motion transmitting connections from said carrier to said lever for operating said slide in one direction in the course of downward movement of the carrier and for controlling the movement of the slide in the opposite direction under bias of said spring, means for automatically programming movement of the slide in accordance with movements of said carrier and means for transmitting actuating motion from said carrier to said programming means through a shell on said supporting means.

6. A loader in accordance with claim 5 in which said programming means includes first, second and third levers having arms interposed in the path of said slide in opposition to movement thereof by said spring, a tab on one of said levers, said shell supporting means being provided with resiliently yieldable mounting means and having mechanism including a push rod for engaging the tab to elevate said one lever upon displacement of the shell supporting means, means for communicating motion from said one lever to the second and third levers, said second and third levers constituting means for requiring a predetermined sequence of operations of said slide and for the restoration of said levers to their initial positions respecting said slide upon completion of said sequence.

7. A shotgun shell reloader comprising a base having a resiliently yieldable table provided with mounting means for accommodating yielding movement and upon which may be supported a shotgun shell to be reloaded, a tool carrier movable to and from the table, a drop tube centered above the shell for delivery of a charge of powder thereto, a powder container offset from the drop tube, a metering slide having a powder receiving pocket and movable forth and back between positions of registry of said pocket with said container and with said drop tube, means for moving the slide comprising a spring biasing it for movement in one direction and a first lever provided with a terminal finger engageable with the slide in opposition to the spring, and lost motion means for actuating the lever from the carrier when the carrier has advanced the tool toward said table, table actuated means for controlling slide movement including at least one programming lever having an arm normally interposed in the path of movement of the slide, and a push rod having .another lever connecting said rod with said table to elevate the rod when the table is depressed by communication of motion thereto through the shell from the carrier, said push rod having means for displacing the programming lever from the path of the slide, and means for communicating motion from the carrier through a shell in said table to said table and for thereby controlling the movement of said slide.

8. A shotgun shell reloader according to claim 7 in which the lost motion means for actuating the lever comprises a headed link, the carrier having an apertured portion and the lever having an apertured portion and said link extending through said portions and having freedom of movement through at least one of them until its head limits such freedom of movement.

9. A shell reloader comprising a shell support, a tool, means for moving said tool into engagement with a shell received in said support, means including said tool for performing a first operation on a shell received in said support in response to engagement of said tool with the shell, means including said tool for metering and delivering a charge of powder into a shell received in said support, and means including said tool for programming said metering and delivering means, said programming means being dependent upon the presence of the shell received in said support and the engagement of said tool with the shell received in said support.

10. A shell reloader comprising a shell support including a table and means yieldably mounting said table, a tool for conditioning a shell received in said support, said tool including a tubular ram having a drop tube, means for moving said tool into shell engagement, means for metering and delivering a charge of powder into a shell received in said support, said metering and delivering means comprising a powder container offset from said drop tube, a metering slide having a pocket selectively registerable with said container and said drop tube, and means for operating the slide including motion transmitting connections from said table for controlling the operation of said slide in response to movement of said table, and means for programming said metering and delivering means, said programming means being dependent upon the operation of said tool and the presence of a shell received in said shell support.

11. A shell loader comprising a support for receiving a shell, a manually operable tool movable relative to a shell on said support, a metering slide, means providing a way in which the slide is reciprocable, powder and shot containers for which the way provides openings, the slide having metering pocket means selectively registrable with said openings, the way being further provided with a third opening intermediate the powder and shot receiving openings and with which the metering pocket means is selectively registrable, means for effecting reciprocation of said metering slide in one direction including a spring for actuating the slide, a first lever, and motion transmitting means from said tool to a shell on said support and then from the shell on said support to said first lever for movement thereof in accordance with the operation of the tool to permit actuation of said slide by said spring in said one direction, and mechanism including a second lever for actuating the slide in the opposite direction.

12. A shell loader according to claim 11 in combination with means for controlling the operation of the slide and including a set of first, second and third programming levers beside the way, at least the first and second such levers including arms respectively projecting laterally across the path of movement of the slide in opposition to slide actuation by said spring, the first of said programming levers including a laterally projecting tab, the second program lever having a notch from which said tab projects, and the third programming lever being pivoted upon the second programming lever and having a shoulder normally engaged laterally with said tab, the pivotal connection between the second and third programming levers being substantially directly above said shoulder, and means for exerting upward pressure on said tab for lifting all three of said levers, the third programming lever having cam means in the path of movement of said slide for elevating said third lever sufficiently to clear said shoulder from said tab whereby to permit the second programming lever to fall toward its initial position, whereby its said arm of the second programming lever will engage said slide to restrain its movement notwithstanding that the first said lever is in a position in which its said arm cannot do so.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 183,902 10/1876 Camp 8631 549,553 11/1895 Wagner 8639 2,031,850 2/1936 Peterson 8623 2,367,031 1/ 1945 Johnson 861 2,655,831 10/1953 Veum 8631 2,856,807 10/1958 Stutzman 8631 3,036,489 5/ 1962 Puth 8639 3,057,247 10/1962 Behrens 864-25 3,073,208 1/ 1963 Agnese 8623 3,097,560 7/1963 Ponsness et a1. 8627 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

R. V. LOTTMANN, Assistawt Examiner.

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1. A SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADER COMPRISING A BASE HAVING A RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE TABLE PROVIDED WITH MOUNTING MEANS FOR ACCOMMODATING YIELDING MOVEMENT AND UPON WHICH MAY BE SUPPORTED A SHOTGUN SHELL TO BE RELOADED, A TOOL CARRIER MOVABLE TO AND FROM THE TABLE, A DROP TUBE CENTERED ABOVE THE SHELL FOR DELIVERY OF A CHARGE OF POWDR THERETO, A POWDER CONTAINER OFFSET FROM THE DROP TUBE, A METERIAL SLIDE HAVING A POWDER RECEIVING POCKET AND MOVABLE FORTHE AND BACK BETWEEN POSITIONS OF REGISTRY OF SAID POCKET WITH SAID CONTAINER AND WITH SAID DROP TUBE, MEANS FOR MOVING THE SLIDE, TABLE ACTUATED MEANS 